Xbox Livecam Mod (Cliff)

[Stargazing_Cliff]

I sorted the avi better.

Check me youtube video xbox cam and lens i added to it

amazing what can be done with software

you could try adding different lens to xbox cams ccd sensor and see what you get.

or just add it to telescopes like some of us have done.

but for this video just that cam and little lens amazing what it pickes up.

http://youtu.be/spkS2cQpte8

[The Sailor]

Right, tonight I tried the cam on two OAs and I it never came anywhere near my cam on the 9x50 finderscope so I will probably reinstall the orignal lens and call it a day with it. I will use them as normal cams, just have to see what or where to put them, and no I won't put it there

Jim

[Stargazing_Cliff]

Right, tonight I tried the cam on two OAs and I it never came anywhere near my cam on the 9x50 finderscope so I will probably reinstall the orignal lens and call it a day with it. I will use them as normal cams, just have to see what or where to put them, and no I won't put it there

Jim

use them as cloud cam tell ya somet u see clouds color change when it's raining and snow clouds to come

[Aenima]

Cliff, it don't work for me, far too much noise even to use it as a guide cam, I have other cams which do the job far better. They are okay if that is what you want but I would not be able to recommend it to anyone.

Jim

Hey there ppl.

Jims right about other cams being better, though the good thing bout xbox cam is its only a fiver for the webcam itself - perfect for strange experiments where you wouldn't risk an expensive imager, and also solar imaging ventures can be risky too. But above all its great for a 1st time mod for noobs who want to try planetary imaging on a budget - for the price its hard to find anything better.

However, like Jim, I actually use my spc880 more now, though still holding onto me xbox cam - it was my first mod of anything, ever, and got my first real images of mars saturn and venus with it.

I like Cliffs skycam idea, again because its cheap I would not be too bothered leaving it out in the UK weather to monitor cloud cover etc.

All in all I'm glad I got one. Cheers Cliff.

Nice moon mosaic there Andrew. I gotta learn how you do that

Regards

Aenima

[Stargazing_Cliff]

Me to i goto learn how to do mosaic guess you need very stable telescope and take little bits of moon at time image bits then stich them all together.

i heard of program microsoft ice is great for stiching images together.

[Aenima]

PS: Like the link 2 your FB photo album, Jim.

Will add you and Cliff if thats ok?

https://www.facebook...=3&l=db0f2208c0 Link to my FB pics (if the link works )

Some excellent DSO's in the album, Jim, nice1!

Regards

Aenima

[Aenima]

Me to i goto learn how to do mosaic guess you need very stable telescope and take little bits of moon at time image bits then stich them all together.

i heard of program microsoft ice is great for stiching images together.

Microsoft ICE

Yeah thats the one! I do have it, just dont have anything worth stitching together - you'd need to dedicate a night to imaging moon all over. Need patience too.

[The Sailor]

Thank you Aenima, those photos are not that good, need to be a lot better, sure you can add me

Jim

[Aenima]

Actually Cliff, the post you wrote with the vid link above where you mention different lenses on the xbox chip, I'm getting great framerates and sharp focus from just the original lens and sharpcap. I'm still interested in fixing a 25mm EP at the proper distance for focussed EP projection. Have you seen the detail you get when focussed two or three millimetres from the lens, screw the original lens tight in as far as it goes and put your finger up close watching the screen you can see fingerprint absolutely sharp! Really fine detail on skin, can imagine the view through low power EP with same level of detail and sharpness - add a bit of gain and Afocally snap a pic of M45 pleiades. Jims 50mm finder would be a perfect FOV to cature it, as the view through mine is very good - lots of bright, pretty stars in the FOV.

Worth a try if you ask me. Might even take my 9x50mm finderscope apart stick the cam in the end as described by Jim above somewhere.....

Now just need clear sky...........

Aenima

[Aenima]

Cool, thanks Jim.

I like those Clusters you took, some nice solar pics too. I only manage planets and lunar so far, anything deepsky is impressive - takes more skill and different capture techniques, will get there one day I hope.

Jay

[The Sailor]

Might even take my 9x50mm finderscope apart stick the cam in the end as described by Jim above somewhere.....

Aenima, to get a cam on the 9x50 you have to have an adapter, you take the rear lens off the finderscope and replace it with the adapter and then screw on the cam without a lens. Once you do that you then take the front lens off and take the ring off, put the front lens back on and screw it in all the way, unscrew to achieve focus . They cost £29 from Modern Astronomy, a bit dear for a £3 cam!!

Jim

[Gina]

I've used Canon PhotoStitch to join images in the past I think it's supplied with Canon cameras

[heathenwoods]

What Aenima wrote is spot on - it was such a good feeling to pull the thing apart, hack it, put it back together again and find it still works :-)

My second moon mosaic from last night - it's nice to get some okay images for less than a fiver. I'm already looking forward to Jupiter making an appearance at a civilized hour and it also means that I've begun to feel the lure of the dark side...

Hey there ppl.

Jims right about other cams being better, though the good thing bout xbox cam is its only a fiver for the webcam itself - perfect for strange experiments where you wouldn't risk an expensive imager, and also solar imaging ventures can be risky too. But above all its great for a 1st time mod for noobs who want to try planetary imaging on a budget - for the price its hard to find anything better.

However, like Jim, I actually use my spc880 more now, though still holding onto me xbox cam - it was my first mod of anything, ever, and got my first real images of mars saturn and venus with it.

I like Cliffs skycam idea, again because its cheap I would not be too bothered leaving it out in the UK weather to monitor cloud cover etc.

All in all I'm glad I got one. Cheers Cliff.

Nice moon mosaic there Andrew. I gotta learn how you do that

Regards

Aenima

[The Sailor]

What Aenima wrote is spot on - it was such a good feeling to pull the thing apart, hack it, put it back together again and find it still works :-)

I agree, I had a film scanner and I took it apart and rescued the cam board and now use it as a guider, it's Res: 2592x1680 RGB24 FR @ 3.75. It's no good for planatery so use it for DS, can pick up quite a bit

Jim

[Aenima]

Thanks Heathenwoods,

And good luck with Jupiter. You might find the xbox struggles with retaining colour while imaging it though, might want to experiment with capturing as best you can the original colouring of Jupiter- maybe up the saturation or gamma? I dont know yet how to improve the problem, still working on it. I did think colour filters and RGB but its a lot of trouble to mess about with filters when the planet rotates so fast.

Best of luck anyways...

Regards

Aenima

[Aenima]

Aenima, to get a cam on the 9x50 you have to have an adapter, you take the rear lens off the finderscope and replace it with the adapter and then screw on the cam without a lens. Once you do that you then take the front lens off and take the ring off, put the front lens back on and screw it in all the way, unscrew to achieve focus . They cost £29 from Modern Astronomy, a bit dear for a £3 cam!!

Jim

Nice 1 Jim, Ta. Are you talking about the adapter that fits the spc900 type nosepiece? I have one I can use if so. ?

Aenima

[The Sailor]

Yes, the adapter is advertised as fitting the SPC900.

Jim

[Stargazing_Cliff]

I could do with re-modding xbox cam back on telescope sometime at moment my 2 used 1 as extra cctv as it see's in dark picks up infrared light from me other cctv cams

and 1 is used a skycam.

maybe when i come across another xbox cam i possibly mod it back to telescope.

[The Sailor]

You can have mine if you want it

Jim

[Aenima]

Hey there Jim,

Thats great about the fit on the 50mm finder as I have a spare due to only using one cam at a time, is there anything in particular you think might help when I come to mod the cam with my finderscope? Wanna have all the bits ready before I start to dismantle stuff

PS. Cliff, it works! I screwed the xbox original lens tight all the way making the focus point a matter of millimetres away and put it up against my 25mm EP and got good images of Moon and some stars - just a quick test but chuffed at the prospect of bodging together a EP / Xbox cam thing to capture wide field shots.

Regards

Jay

[Aenima]

Had a little go at Jupiter with my ~Xbox cliffcam~ as I wanted to give it a better chance now I have the 200p, it didnt get fair trial with my 130p as I didnt know first thing about imaging.

Not bad - as I keep saying - for the money, even got a bit of colour there.

Regards

Aenima

[The Sailor]

Hey there Jim,

Thats great about the fit on the 50mm finder as I have a spare due to only using one cam at a time, is there anything in particular you think might help when I come to mod the cam with my finderscope? Wanna have all the bits ready before I start to dismantle stuff

Jay, you sure you want to pay that amount of money for an adapter for a camera 1/10 of the price? If you are going down the finderscope route I would bye a better cam to get the benefit of the finder.

Jim

[Aenima]

Jay, you sure you want to pay that amount of money for an adapter for a camera 1/10 of the price?

Hi man,

Sorry, not quite sure what you meant. I have a cam and adapter already, if thats what your saying? I appreciate any kind of advice, mate, thank you. Am hoping to use bits already in my box of stuff, just a mess about project. I like the idea of pleiades and moon in wider field and the finder shows it nicely. Dont intend to spend extra on it

Thanks though, glad the thought was there....

If that isnt what you meant, apologies for stupidity. :~)

Regards

Aenima

[The Sailor]

Jay, as meant , glad you are trying things out, never hurts to experiment without paying , good luck with it.

Jim

[Aenima]

Thanks man!

Was really glad to hear the back comes easily from the 50 finder and fits a normal adapter. After seeing M45 through the SW 9x50 finderscope I've been planning to find a way to get a pic, also that a small refractor would be great on my az goto.

See you updated your photo album, gonna check it out. I have gotten right into Astro-photography since that 1st mod xbox webcam.

Aenima